1998 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report

Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
United States Department of State
February 26, 1999

GERMANY

I. Summary

Germany is a key location for drugs transiting Europe and remains a major consumer of most illicit drugs. Government statistics show some variation in the reporting for first-time drug users since last year. Heroin remains the most abused illegal drug, but the trend towards greater use of synthetic drugs slowed slightly since 1997. Drugs continue to be shipped from all over the world to Germany for further distribution, with the most frequent sources being Turkey (through the Balkan route) and The Netherlands. Money laundering, while illegal, remains problematic. Cross- border cash movements are free from formal reporting mechanisms. Germany is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

II. Status of Country

Germany remains a major consumer of illicit narcotics and continues to serve as a hub for drugs transiting to/from other nations. Its sophisticated transportation infrastructure--the Autobahn, Frankfurt International Airport (one of the world's busiest), etc.--make Germany an ideal route for drugs entering and transiting Europe. Its role as one of the world's major chemical producers makes it a target for precursor chemical diversions.

It appears that the number of first-time hard drug users has remained relatively constant over the past three years. Police reports indicate that first-time use of amphetamines and cocaine rose during the reporting period while first-time use of amphetamine derivatives, LSD, and heroin all fell.

German authorities registered some 735 deaths stemming from drug abuse during the first six months of 1998. This is a slight increase (3.4 percent) over the same time period in 1997. The bulk of the deaths were caused by heroin overdose (roughly one third), with 20 percent resulting from mixing heroin with other drugs, and another 18 percent due to chronic heroin abuse. Eight deaths were believed to be caused wholly or in part by the use of ecstasy.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 1998

Policy Initiatives. German counterdrug efforts continue to be guided by the 1990 national narcotics prevention plan, based on a consensus between the federal and state governments. During the first half of 1998, there were no major changes. However, following the elections in September, the bulk of the responsibility for Germany's federal involvement in formulating drug policy passed from the Interior Ministry to the Health Ministry. It is difficult to predict how this will affect policy over the next four years. However, the Health Ministry recently agreed to consider programs in Hamburg, Duesseldorf, and Frankfurt in which the state governments may provide heroin to addicts in an effort to control use. This rather controversial program is patterned after a similar effort in Switzerland. U.S. law enforcement agencies, however, do not anticipate that the move from Interior to Health will impact Germany's willingness to investigate and combat international drug trafficking.

Accomplishments. German police continue to interdict and seize large quantities of illicit narcotics shipments destined for, or transiting, Germany, although the statistics for individual drugs were mixed. Heroin and cocaine seizures were down (9.5 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively), as was the case with ecstasy (down 19.3 percent) and LSD (down 3.3 percent). The amount of amphetamines seized was up drastically (47.1 percent). Far more marijuana (24.1 percent) and hashish (102 percent) also were confiscated during the first six months of this year as compared to last (the drastic increase in hashish seizures relates directly to three large seizures at the Frankfurt airport, totaling some 4,200 kilograms.)

Law Enforcement Efforts. German law enforcement efforts remain effective at state and federal level. The government this year began training some units in LSD and heroin signature analysis in order to better identify and investigate drug shipments transiting Germany. German cooperation with various U.S. law enforcement counterparts is excellent.

Corruption. Corruption is not a major problem in Germany. Isolated cases may arise, but the overwhelming consensus is that corruption is far from systemic. The government neither encourages nor facilitates the production and/or distribution of illicit narcotics.

Agreements and Treaties. Germany became a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention in 1993, and is also a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention and its 1972 Protocol and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The U.S. and Germany have an Extradition Treaty, but no Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT).

Cultivation and Production. There is no large-scale cultivation of any type of drug in Germany. Police continue to report the occasional discovery of marijuana plants destined for personal use, but no significant plots have ever been found in Germany.

During the first six months of 1998, German police raided and dismantled 9 laboratories that were producing illicit drugs. Six of these were found to be manufacturing methamphetamine. Two were used to make other amphetamine derivatives while the ninth was producing the hallucinogen mescaline.

Drug Flow/Transit. Germany remains one of the most-used trafficking hubs in Europe. Its central location, excellent road and port systems, as well as Frankfurt International Airport, provide narcotics traffickers ample outlets into the various European markets. The Balkan route--dominated by Turks--continues to be the path of least resistance for heroin shipments from the "Golden Crescent" of southwest Asia. Twenty-three percent of the heroin seized in Germany for the reporting period, was thought to be destined for markets outside Germany.

Similar statistics for cocaine, marijuana/hashish, and synthetic drugs reinforce Germany's position as a crossroads for the European drug trade. The relative ease with which drugs can be moved into Germany is a cause for great concern for the German government and one that the government has yet to be able to fully counter. German police estimate that 13.8 percent of the cocaine seized during the first six months of 1998 was in transit to other locales. Likewise, authorities speculate that the three seizures of hashish at the Frankfurt airport in the first half of this year (totaling some 4,200 kilograms) were intended for the hash bars of The Netherlands. For synthetic drugs--mainly produced in The Netherlands-- Germany is a key staging area. Germany reportedly will make countering the above phenomenon a key issue in its upcoming Schengen and EU presidencies.

Domestic Programs. Germany's efforts at education about the physical and psychological effects of drug use/abuse are targeted to kindergarten and primary school-age children. The bulk of the self-help programs historically have been managed on the state level with some interaction with federal authorities. It remains to be seen if the recent shift of lead responsibility for the drug question in Germany from the Interior Ministry to the Health Ministry will change the demand reduction/education programs.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs

Bilateral Cooperation. The level of cooperation with Germany is excellent. German law enforcement agencies work closely with their U.S. counterparts, mainly the Drug Enforcement Administration, on narcotics and narcotics- related cases. German and U.S. law enforcement agencies routinely cooperate on joint investigations against international drug trafficking organizations. DEA is a member of the "permanent German anti-narcotics working group" (STAR), and also participates in a number of other regional narcotics working groups. DEA, FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Customs Service continue to work closely with counterparts from a variety of German agencies in attempts to stem money laundering.

The Road Ahead. The U.S. mission in Germany will continue to work closely with its German counterparts in attacking this problem. In conjunction with the Mission's move to Berlin, we have begun an outreach program to police units in the eastern states which will allow us to cooperate as effectively there as we have in the western portion of Germany.